Abstract
A theory of reference-plane positions for the substrate-mediated dispersion energies is presented. It is found that two reference-plane positions, Z1 and Z2, are required for the description of the interference and image interactions between two atoms (molecules) in the presence of a surface. Model calculations for Z1, Z2, and other dispersion coefficients are presented for a number of adsorption species on jellium and noble-metal substrates.
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